Canadian Transit Number Lookup
Find any Canadian bank's transit number, institution code, and routing number. Search by bank name or look up a specific transit number directly.
5-digit branch transit number
3-digit bank identifier
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Where to Find These Numbers on a Cheque
The bottom of every Canadian cheque shows the transit number, institution number, and account number in MICR format.
New to Canada? Your bank will give you a void cheque or a direct deposit form that clearly shows these three numbers. Ask for it at the branch or download it from your bank's mobile app. Most employers, the CRA, and government agencies need these for direct deposit setup.
How Canadian Bank Routing Numbers Work
Canada uses a three-part system to identify bank accounts for domestic payments. It is different from the US system, different from the European IBAN system, and different from the UK sort code. If you just moved to Canada or are sending money to a Canadian account for the first time, this is the part that confuses almost everyone.
The transit number is 5 digits and identifies a specific branch. The institution number is 3 digits and identifies the bank. Put them together and you get a routing number, but the format depends on context. For EFT, Interac, and direct deposit, the format is TTTTTIII (8 digits). For a paper cheque, a leading zero is added, making it 9 digits: 0TTTTTIII. Both formats represent the same branch. The extra zero is a MICR formatting convention from the era of physical cheque processing.
Institution Numbers for Canada's Major Banks
| Bank | Institution No. |
|---|---|
| BMO Bank of Montreal | 001 |
| Scotiabank | 002 |
| RBC Royal Bank | 003 |
| TD Bank | 004 |
| National Bank of Canada | 006 |
| CIBC | 010 |
| HSBC Bank Canada | 016 |
| Desjardins | 815 |
Domestic EFT vs International SWIFT for Canada
Transit and institution numbers only work for payments within Canada's domestic clearing system: Interac, EFT, direct deposit, and pre-authorized debits. If your employer is Canadian and paying you from a Canadian account, the transit number is exactly what they need.
For international payments coming into Canada from another country, SWIFT is the protocol. Your sender needs your bank's SWIFT code and your account number. Services like Wise, Remitly, and WorldRemit bridge this gap by maintaining local Canadian bank accounts. The sender's bank sends funds to Wise's Canadian account via SWIFT, and then Wise pushes the funds to your account using your transit number domestically. So you get paid in CAD directly, but the routing happens in two steps behind the scenes.
Short rule: if the sender is in Canada, give them transit number, institution number, and account number. If they are outside Canada, give them the SWIFT code and account number. If you are not sure, ask which country they are sending from.
Compare transfer rates with our Send Money from Canada tool. For validating European accounts, use our IBAN Validator. For US routing numbers, try our US ABA Routing Number Lookup.
Transit number data sourced from CPA (Canadian Payments Association) public documentation. Data last updated: January 2025. Always confirm routing details with your bank before setting up payroll or large transfers.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A Canadian transit number is a 5-digit code that identifies a specific bank branch. It is always used with the 3-digit institution number to route domestic payments. Together they form an 8-digit routing number used for EFT, direct deposit, and pre-authorized payments.
The transit number (5 digits) identifies the branch, the institution number (3 digits) identifies the bank. A routing number combines both: for EFT payments it is TTTTTIII (8 digits), and on a paper cheque it is 0TTTTTIII (9 digits with a leading zero). Same data, different formats for different contexts.
Your transit number is on a void cheque, on the direct deposit form from your bank, and in your bank's mobile app under account details. At the bottom of a Canadian cheque, numbers read left to right: transit (5 digits), institution (3 digits), then account number.
BMO is 001, Scotiabank is 002, RBC Royal Bank is 003, TD Bank is 004, National Bank is 006, CIBC is 010, HSBC Canada is 016, and Desjardins is 815.
For international wire transfers into Canada, you need the SWIFT code and account number, not the transit number. Transit numbers are for domestic Canadian payments only. Some services like Wise use local Canadian accounts, so they may ask for your transit number to deliver to your local account.
The 9-digit paper format is 0TTTTTIII: a leading zero, then 5-digit transit, then 3-digit institution. For electronic EFT payments the leading zero is dropped, giving 8 digits: TTTTTIII.
Not directly. US banks use ABA routing numbers which are incompatible with Canadian transit numbers. To receive from the US, you need your bank's SWIFT code and account number. Services like Wise and Remitly handle the conversion, so the sender may only need your email or phone number.
